About 650,000 square feet of gleaming metal will be a feast for the senses of anyone in the car business, attracting thousands of consumers, many of whom are doing hands-on research for their next vehicles.

The DFW Auto Show, scheduled March 16-20 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, will present more than 700 vehicles from about 40 manufacturers, ranging from Fiat to Aston Martin, Chrysler to Maserati, Toyota to Mercedes-Benz.

The DFW event, which holds a special place on the calendar between the larger Chicago and New York auto shows, serves a purpose for the DFW-North Texas region.

“The DFW Auto Show has always been the best place in the Metroplex for serious car shoppers to look, compare, test drive and dream,” said Don Herring Jr., auto show chairman, providing consumers with “hours of research possibilities, including conversations with manufacturers’ product specialists.”

A previous survey by the event showed that 17 percent of attendees were then in the market for a new vehicle and 13 percent were looking to purchase within six months.

About a quarter said that attending the show strongly influenced their decision on which vehicle they would buy, with 35 percent saying they were somewhat influenced. About 14 percent said they changed their mind on what vehicle they would purchase after attending the show.

This year’s show will include 2017 models and an “impressive lineup” of new or redesigned 2016s.

Visitors also can dream big in the High End area where $100,000-plus vehicles will be on display, including the $300,000 Rezvani Beast X supercar manufactured in California.

And then there are the two ride-and-drive activities, one outdoors that will comprise more than 60 vehicles from over a dozen manufacturers available for test drives in downtown Dallas.

The show is produced by the Dallas Fort Worth Metropolitan New Car Dealers Association, the trade association comprising about 200 franchised new-car dealerships in 11 North Texas counties that represent more than $10 billion in new and used car sales annually.

But if you can’t make it to the Dallas show, at least 17 others are scheduled around the country between Chicago and New York shows, including events in New Orleans, Atlanta, Cleveland and Denver.